Making It Up

"Making It Up display[s] Lively's incisive prose style, her wit, and, above all, her agile imagination." -Entertainment Weekly Hailed by critics as a benchmark in a career full of award-winning achievements, Making It Up is Penelope Lively's answer to the oft-asked question, "How much of what you write comes from your own life?" What if Lively hadn't escaped from Egypt, her birthplace, at the outbreak of World War II? What would her life have been like if she'd married someone else? From a hillside in Italy to an archaeological dig, the author explores the stories that could have been hers, fashioning a sublime dance between reality and imagination that confirms her reputation as a singular talent

hailed By Critics As A Benchmark In A Career Full Of Award-winning Achievements, making It Up Is Penelope Lively's Answer To The Oft-asked Question, How Much Of What You Write Comes From Your Own Life? What If Lively Hadn't Escaped From Egypt, Her Birthplace, At The Outbreak Of World War Ii? What Would Her Life Have Been Like If She'd Married Someone Else? From A Hillside In Italy To An Archaeological Dig, The Author Explores The Stories That Could Have Been Hers, Fashioning A Sublime Dance Between Reality And Imagination That Confirms Her Reputation As A Singular Talent.

roxanna Robinson

who Knows What Determines The Course Of A Life? Genes, Character, Chance? There Are Many Means Of Exploring These Questions, But One Of The Most Tantalizing Is Penelope Lively's Confabulation.
the New York Times Sunday Book Review

'Nobody writes more astutely or affectingly about [love]... than Penelope Lively.'-- The Washington PostAn intelligent examination of alternative destinies, choices and the moments in our lives when we could have chosen a different path, from Booker Prize-winning author Penelope LivelyIn this fascinating piece of fiction, Penelope Lively takes moments from her own life and asks'what if'she had made other choices: what if she hadn't escaped from Alexandria at the outbreak of WWII? What would her life have been like if she had become pregnant when she was 18? If she had married someone else? If she taken a different job? If she had lived her life abroad? These stories offer a sublime dance between realityand imaganation, inviting the reader to ask similar questions. Look out for Penelope Livelys new book, The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories. Hailed by critics as a benchmark in a career full of award-winning achievements, Making It Up is Penelope Lively's answer to the oft-asked question, "How much of what you write comes from your own life?" What if Lively hadn't escaped from Egypt, her birthplace, at the outbreak of World War II? What would her life have been like if she'd married someone else? From a hillside in Italy to an archaeological dig, the author explores the stories that could have been hers, fashioning a sublime dance between reality and imagination that confirms her reputation as a singular talent. Penelope Lively takes moments from her life and asks what if she had made other choices: what if she hadn't escaped from Alexandria at the outbreak of WWII? What would her life have been like if she had become pregnant when she was 18? If she had married someone else? If she taken a different job? If she had lived her life abroad?